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Virginia State Police will step up road patrols over the Independence Day holiday.

Increased patrols begin Thursday and continue through Sunday night. It's part of the annual Operation CARE national traffic-enforcement effort. The additional patrols are aimed at reducing crashes, fatalities and injuries caused by speeding, impaired driving and failure to use seat belts.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says it expects more than 1.1 million Virginians to travel during the holiday weekend. That's down 1.4 percent from 2012.

Officials say 10 percent of the crashes in Virginia during the July 4th holiday were alcohol-related.

Last year police cited more than 9,200 speeders and 2,600 reckless drivers and 900 drivers were charged for failing to buckle up. State police also investigated 719 traffic crashes.